


Drinks With a Friend

by MacyAudenStar



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-16
Updated: 2015-06-16
Packaged: 2018-04-04 16:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4145412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MacyAudenStar/pseuds/MacyAudenStar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five times Felicity and Tommy drank together...And one time they didn't.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drinks With a Friend

**Author's Note:**

> I've been hanging onto this one for awhile, it's just been sitting unfinished on my drive. So, here it is, finished and posted, but not beta'd. That said, if you see any mistakes, they are all mine, and I'm so sorry!

Felicity smiled in thanks to the bartender as he placed the glass of wine in front of her. What the hell was Oliver’s problem yelling at her like that? She was just offering to do her job, and who the hell was that woman anyway?

A dark-haired man sat on the stool next to her, waving the bartender over with one hand, while holding the other close to his body. When he turned his head again, she realized it was Tommy Merlyn, as in Oliver’s friend Tommy, as in the general manager of Verdant. He side-eyed her, and she quickly flitted her eyes away, realizing that she was staring.

Before he could say anything to her, an apology rushed out of Felicity. “I’m sorry for staring, Tommy, I mean, Mr. Merlyn. My mind was wandering, my boss is being kind of an ass, and...Well, sorry. For making it more awkward.” Felicity took a long drink of the wine, hoping against hope that he wouldn’t say anything to her.

She should have known better, just based off the tabloid stories alone. “And here I just thought that you were checking out the attractive man next to you.” He flashed her a quick grin before taking a sip of the scotch that the bartender had set in front of him. “So, you know my name, it’s hardly fair that I don’t know yours.”

Felicity smiled back. “Felicity Smoak.”

Recognition dawned on his face at her name. “Oliver’s mentioned you once or twice.”

She immediately blushed. “Please don’t tell him I called him an ass. I don’t mind saying it to his face, but I’d rather he not hear that I’m talking about him behind his back.”

“You help with his side project, don’t you?”

Felicity looked over at him in surprise. “I do,” she said carefully.

Tommy nodded, a grim look on his face. “I hope he’s careful with you. It can be dangerous, being around Oliver, even if you aren’t involved with that.” He gestured down to his arm, as if it were evidence.

“Well, it’s just a temporary thing, until we find Walter,” Felicity told him in a low voice.

Tommy downed the rest of his scotch. “Noted. You ever need anything, Felicity Smoak, let me know.” He nodded toward her wine, “And your drinks are on the house.”

“You don’t have to…”

Tommy smiled then, for real this time, she realized, his blue eyes crinkling. “Well, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t let pretty girls have free drinks.” Felicity raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s just drinks, Felicity. I know how demanding Oliver can be. You deserve it.”

Felicity snorted, but thanked him anyway. “What happened there?”

Tommy studied her for a moment, then said, “T-Mobile girl wasn’t messing around.”

Felicity frowned, thinking of the girl that was in the foundry earlier. Maybe there was a reason they wanted her out. “Well, it looks like a sprain. You should probably wrap it, at least.”

“I’ll take that into consideration. See you around, Felicity Smoak.”

***

 

Felicity was still shaken up from watching Carnahan die by the time she wandered into Verdant from the foundry. Her grandparents passed away when she was young, but she’d never actually seen someone die like that before. So out of it that she was, she didn’t pay attention to where she was going and bumped right into Tommy, who reached out his hands to steady her shoulders.

“Felicity? You alright?”

Felicity shook her head. “I, um, I don’t know.”

Tommy looked around the busy club, then gently led her to the office. “Sit down,” he said, shutting the door behind them. “You want to talk about it?”

Felicity appraised him. “I don’t know if you want to hear it,” she said honestly.

“That might be true, but you look like you could use a friend. Or at least a drink. Stay here, I’ll be back in two minutes.” She stayed where she was, trying to get herself out of the fog she was in, and a few minutes later, Tommy walked back in with a couple of wine glasses and her favorite wine. He poured her a large glass and handed it to her. “Now, talk.”

Felicity took a drink of the wine, before quietly explaining what had happened that evening. “We just couldn’t get to Carnahan in time. I’ve never seen someone die before,” she said quietly. She let out a shuddering breath and closed her eyes. “I know that we’ll fail sometimes, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. Especially when I was the one telling Oliver where to go. I can’t help but feel responsible.”

“Felicity,” she looked up at him, meeting his sad blue eyes, “you know you aren’t responsible for his death. You have to know that.”

“I mean, logically, I know that I’m not the one who killed him, but that doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.” She looked down at her feet, trying to blink away the tears threatening to form.

“I’m sorry, Felicity,” he said, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder.

She gave him a sad smile and sipped at her wine. “Nothing you can do. Thanks for listening, at least.”

“Of course. I’m always around if you need me.”

Felicity stared into her wine glass for a moment, then looked back up at Tommy, a thought occurring to her. “Aren’t you working? Isn’t it illegal to drink while you’re working?”

“It is frowned upon,” he conceded. “But I try not to make a habit of it.”

Felicity hummed in response. They sat in silence for a little while longer before Tommy went back out to work, assuring her she could stay in the office as long as she needed to before she left.

***

“Felicity Smoak! You look amazing,” Tommy said, coming up behind her at the bar.

Felicity blushed, but smiled at him. “Girls night out with some friends from college.” She was wearing a short red dress, her hair down and curled, and contacts instead of her usual glasses.

“A rare treat for you indeed,” he said with a wink. “Do you and your friends want the VIP treatment?”

“Oh, Tommy, I don’t know…” Felicity said, trailing off. She bit her lip, considering. “We don’t get to see each other very often.”

Tommy smiled widely and put an arm around her. “Then you should all have a night to remember.” He waved Mark over and ordered a round of tequila shots for Felicity and her friends. Then, walked back to the table with the tray, his arm still around Felicity and his usual charming smile in place.

“Ladies!” The other women looked up at him, taking in the attractive dark haired man with his arm around their friend. “Felicity failed to mention that she was bringing friends to this fine establishment this evening, but don’t worry, we’re still going to get you the VIP treatment. Follow me.”

Felicity rolled her eyes at Tommy and her friends’ reaction to him, but allowed herself to be pulled along anyway as he escorted them to a VIP area. “You just let me know if you need anything, ok?”

Tommy held onto Felicity’s arm and gave her one of the shot glasses. “You are going to do a shot with me, Felicity.”

Felicity eyed the tequila warily. It was not among her favorite drinks, but she took the glass anyway. “What are we drinking to, Merlyn?”

“A night away from the cave,” he said in a low voice with a glint in his eye. Felicity clinked her glass with his, imagining how dangerous he and Oliver would have been together when they were younger. She knew they got into all kinds of trouble, but she’d bet they had everyone wrapped around their finger. After all, she couldn’t seem to tell either of them no.

He smiled at the grimace on her face after taking the shot, “You know where to find me if you need anything, Felicity.” He nodded at her friends again. “Ladies.”

She watched him walk away, turning around after a moment to all of her friends staring at her. To their credit, they waited until he was out of hearing distance before Bethany pulled her into the booth, “Tell us everything.”

***

Felicity wandered through the empty club, wondering where the hell Tommy was after he texted her asking her to meet him there. She looked at the text again, “I need your help. Verdant. ASAP.” A little abrupt, but she knew he wouldn’t be if he didn’t really need something.

She was surprised when she realized the foundry door was open and stepped through it carefully. “Hello?”

“Felicity! Oh, thank God.” Tommy jogged up the steps towards her. “Detective Lance is accusing Oliver and I of dealing Vertigo in the club.”

Felicity’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Yeah, he’s being kind of an asshole about it because some girl named Veronica died...After texting me that she needed a hookup,” he explained, pulling her down the stairs.

“Lance thinks you’re responsible? What the hell? People are always asking you for hookups and favors to get into the club. I like Lance, don’t get me wrong, but he’s so not right for this. You’re his daughter’s boyfriend, shouldn’t he know you better than that?” Felicity surveyed the mess that he had going on, realizing that he was trying to hide everything in boxes, while adding their actual storage to the area.

She met his eyes, feeling them on her as she’d spoken. He looked mildly awestruck, before shaking his head with a small grin. “I wish I’d have had you here to defend me.”

“I wish I could have been here to defend you,” she grumbled. “What do you need me to do?”

“Well, I don’t know how long it’s going to take for him to get that warrant, so we need to move fast. I also kind of didn’t want to get yelled at for messing up your space,” he said, gesturing to the computer equipment she had set up.

“I appreciate that,” she said. She tied her hair back into a ponytail and headed to her work area. “Because you definitely would have gotten yelled at for touching,” she let her eyes wander over all of her equipment, “anything.”

Two hours later, they were both sitting in his office, nursing ice cold beers. “I owe you one for this,” he said quietly, running a hand through his hair. He was a mess, even as clean as they tried to keep the foundry, he was still covered in dust, with a smudge along his cheek, and she was sure she looked the same. Especially as hot and sweaty as she was. It was a lot of work moving some of Oliver’s training equipment. She’d almost called John for help, but they finally got it taken care of.

She waved him off. “If anything, Oliver, John, and I owe you one. You didn’t have to go through the trouble of covering for us.”

He shrugged. “I would hate for you to go to jail for something stupid, like being a vigilante’s accomplice.”

“Well, I appreciate that,” she said lightly. “I don’t think I’d do well in jail.” She finished off her beer, standing up and brushing herself off. “I’m going to get out of here, I’d rather not be around when Lance shows up.” She pursed her lips and stared at him. “You might want to take advantage of the shower we’ve got downstairs. A fresh change of clothes wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”

Tommy snorted. “Noted. I actually keep an extra suit hanging around just in case of emergencies.”

“Of course you do,” she teased. She waved at him as she walked out of the office, hoping to get out before Lance came back with his warrant.

***

Felicity scanned the dark bar, looking for Tommy, before finally spotting him nursing a beer at the end of it. He was by himself, hunched over the bar, as she slid into the stool next to him, waving the bartender over as she did. She'd barely seen him since his fallout with Oliver. His phone call had surprised her, to say the least. “Tommy?” He looked up at her, unshed tears in his eyes. She reached out and squeezed his arm. “What’s going on? What’s wrong?”

He swallowed hard, looking back at the wall behind the bar, trying to focus on anything but her. “I just saw them together.”

She had the bartender bring her whatever Tommy was drinking, not in the mood to look over the drink list when her friend was clearly upset. “Saw who together?”

He finally met her eyes again, and she could see how angry he was. Sad and angry. Not a good combination. “Laurel and Oliver.”

Felicity gasped, forcing herself to push down her own disappointment in the news. “Oh, Tommy.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know why I thought it could be different this time. Of course she’s going to choose Oliver. It’s always been Laurel and Oliver. Oliver and Laurel. I shouldn’t have tried to get between that.”

“Tommy…” Felicity trailed off, unsure of what to say.

“No, Felicity. You don’t know the history like I do. They’re it for each other. She’s always loved Oliver Queen. Even when Oliver Queen was a douchebag who continuously cheated on her.” He waved the bartender over, ordering shots of whiskey for them both, and she tried to hide the wrinkle of her nose.

“She loves you, Tommy,” she said as the bartender walked away to get whatever brand it was that Tommy had ordered. “Anyone can see that.”

“Maybe,” he said. “But she doesn’t love me as much as she loves him.” The bartender set the shots down in front of them, and Tommy asked him to leave the bottle. “For now, I just want to drink. And I don’t want to drink alone.” He looked at her again, handing her the full shot. “And you’re the only friend I’ve got, Felicity.”

Felicity took the glass from him, feeling that overwhelming sadness for Tommy Merlyn that she often felt. There was something so lonely beneath all the charm sometimes. Although he clearly cared for those he kept close. Thea, Laurel, Oliver, and now her, it seemed. “What are we drinking to?” she asked.

He shrugged. “To finding out the truth, I guess.”

She frowned. “How about to friendship? As corny as it is?” He raised an eyebrow, clinking his glass with hers, before they both tossed back the shots. She scowled at the burning sensation making its way down her throat. “That’s terrible.”

“So was your toast,” he said, pushing her beer towards her for a chaser. She took it gratefully and took a sip, not that it helped.

“What are you going to do?” she asked quietly.

He shrugged. “Stay away from Laurel and Oliver and the heartache that comes from being around them both.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I wish there was something I could say to make it better.”

“Just drink with me, Felicity,” he said, pouring another shot for them both.

***

Felicity wandered through the cemetery, holding onto her bag carefully. The last thing she wanted to do was trip over anything and let the contents of her bag spill out before she arrived to her destination. She finally got to the spot she was looking for and stood there for a moment, staring before she began to talk.

“Oliver left yesterday. Left a note for Thea and Diggle to find. Didn’t tell anyone that he was going to leave. Didn’t tell us where he was going. I’ll figure it out, you know me. I love a good mystery. Leaving us to pick up the pieces after everything though,” she rubbed her eyes and sighed. “Take a shot every time Oliver Queen is an ass, right?”

Felicity took the two shot glasses out of her purse and poured tequila into both. Picking one up, she tipped her head back and shot the drink to the back of her throat. She grimaced slightly, then wiped at the tear trickling down her cheek. “You would know just the thing to say right now. Something to make me laugh. You were always good at that.

“You know, I never got to tell you about us breaking into Merlyn Global Group. Although you probably heard about the burger delivery girl claiming you as her man. That was me. You probably would have gotten a kick out of the whole thing. I mean, after you forgave us for breaking in for information in the first place.” She swallowed hard. “We were trying to save the city,” she whispered.

Felicity swallowed the other shot, then leaned against the headstone, bowing her head sadly. She tried to ignore the tears landing onto her lap. “I’m sorry we failed you, that I failed you, Tommy. I’m so sorry we couldn’t save you.” She wiped at her eyes again, replaying Tommy and Oliver’s last conversation in her head. It was bad enough hearing someone die, it was worse when that person had become her friend. “I miss you, Tommy Merlyn,” she whispered to the ground. She stayed for just a little longer, running her fingers through the grass, lost in thought. Finally, after she realized she'd been at the cemetery for longer than she meant to be, she stood up, brushed herself off, and gathered her belongings. She brushed her hand over the headstone one last time before leaving, feeling as though she was leaving a piece of herself behind.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
